Gallica
Gallica is a large country situated on the continent east of Araluen, across the Narrow Sea. It borders Teutlandt to the north-east, Toscano to the south-east, Alpina to the east and Iberion to the south-west. Technically, Gallica is ruled by King Henri, but his reign is weak and he can't keep control over the various warlords who rule the country. He does send diplomats and messengers to other monarchs and rulers, as shown in Oakleaf Bearers. Consequently warlords control their own fiefs freely and often brutally as tyrannical dictators. Each warlord has an army of men conscripted from the fields to fight other warlords and knights for power. This constant fighting ruins most of the pastures and fields. Gallican knights guard crossroads and bridges, charging peasants or travelers a toll to cross. If the peasant or traveler can't pay they have to fight them. As peasants fear for their lives they pay the fee. The knights aren't generally well trained, as Horace, a second-year Araluan Battleschool apprentice at the time, could defeat the vast majority of them. Geography The climate differs greatly from Araluen, likely because Araluen blocks sea storms from the continent. As a result Gallica has a wider variety of crops, trees and foliage. History Not much is known about the history over the nation. At one point, it was a respectable and unified kingdom similar to Araluen, but internal struggles led to the nation's demise. In fact the nation was so weak, that the Temujai were said to have conquered the large nation, except for its coastline, in several weeks. During the chaos caused by the retreat of the Temujai, many Gallican nobles seized semi-independence. They were still part of the Kingdom of Gallica, but ruled their own fiefdoms and duchies like warlords. Skandians like to plunder monasteries and farms on the coast. Politics Officially Gallica is an absolute monarchy, but in fact just a semi-anarchy. It is technically ruled by King Henri, but the nobles rule their fiefs independently. However, the king still sends emissaries to other countries in his name, and he still controls a part of land in the south of Gallica next to the Constant Sea. The rest of Gallica is a lawless anarchy. Knights guard crossroads and bridges, charging peasants and travelers a toll. They force peasants to build strongholds and castles for them, and constantly fight each other. It seems that the person who has the largest army has the most power, yet makes no outright proclamation of being king. Cities and Other Places *La Rivage: Major coastal town and trading port. *Chateau Montsombre: Castle of the tyrant Deparnieux. *King Henri's court: The seat of the monarch of Gallica *Les Sourges: A river town Trivia *Gallica is likely based on Medieval France, though Medieval France was more unified. However 'Gallica' is likely a reference to the Gauls, which is what the Romans called the Celtic tribes in that region. Another comparison is the similarity of the languages and the food. France is the only nation which has a land bridge to the Iberian peninsula, just like Gallica has a land bridge to Iberion. *Gallicans are sometimes referred to as "Galls". This may be similar to how real-world British people are sometimes referred to as "Brits". *Upon inspection the territory of Gallica is similar to France. **Gallica also shares a channel with an island consisting of three nations and a smaller closer island. pl:Gallia Category:Countries